My Story.

Today I am just rambling...the type of stuff Morning Pages are made of.....

This is my story. Condensed.

When I was a little girl,so small my mother had to make my clothes, I asked God to let me be able to do 'everything' when I grew up. I thought my momma could do anything and I wanted to be able to do the same. When I grew up I realized I had an interest in just about everything...do you know how crazy that can make a person, lol.

I have been a stay at home mommy. a cna. a kindergarten teacher. an art teacher. a drama teacher. a shop owner. a scrap metal dealer. an ARTIST....that's really what God crated me to do....to create.

But, I miss business. I guess I miss being with people.
My last business venture was our family business as a scrap metal buyer. Yes, I bought a truck and drove around to scrap yards buying catalytic converters, batteries and aluminum rims plus other scrap metals off automobiles to recycle. Now my husband runs that business so I can pursue my art career. Why am I having such a hard time??? Is it because I'm alone? I think so! <sigh>

When it comes to my art I have a hard time leashing my creativity. As I mentioned earlier, I prayed to be able to do everything and boy.......what a mess I get myself in.....I bounce around from one type of creating to another. I do stay primarily with painting...but I love to do so many things. I love to sew, tat, draw. I love to make things out of concrete. I love to 'see things in rocks and driftwood' and paint them. I love to do collage and make jewelry. I love to recycle items into new again, like candle sticks, old lamps and chairs. I love to make art out of old wood....whew the list goes on. Really, the only thing I don't like is stenciling. It's really beautiful... done by someone else.

So maybe Thursday night Art Chix will meet again.

I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining, because I am truly Blessed to be able to go for my dream. My husband is fully supportive and that means the world. Now I just have to take the reigns...oh, I wish I had a horse...lol, someday! Maybe I need some meds for ADD (artistically. distracted. disorder)...whew!

                                            Hugs!

                                                  Kim

The Strawberry Patch Barn Sale

 

Barn Sale

September 6, 7, & 8th 2012

Hartsville TN

Haven't participated in a show is many years. Excited to make this one the first in nearly 20 years. Lots of new surprises to be found in my booth as well as lots of chickens from www.thechickencoopseries.com and other art from www.kgartstudio.com. Come on out and visit. Look for the life size scarecrows. I will post pictures soon. Also visit www.facebook.com/pages/the-strawberry-patch and "Like" their page!

Mixed Media

SO....I have found my TRUE LoVE in ArT.......

   the combination of 

Paint

Glue

Fabric

Paper

Buttons

Stencils

Gel Medium

Paste

I am having so much FUN! 

This is what I am creating..... Paper Girls.

Angels Are Among Us

Spread Your Wings and Fly

                      God's Answers are Wiser Than Our Prayers

Wisdom Doesn't Come With Age
                       It Comes With The Walk
   Psalms 27:11











                                       The Best Way To Create Your Future Is To Predict It

  

 The Originals are available for $45. Matted prints are also available in 5x7 and 8x10.

Teesha Moore Workshop

I'm heading out on a journey....

                                  I am nearly 46...

                                                         within days.......

                                                                                and .............

I am going to Small Studio to take a class from Teesha Moore, actually 3 classes...I signed up for all of them!  I'm looking forward to this little artsy adventure...but really excited about learning Teesha Moore's techniques of how to make her most fabulous journals. When I was first introduced to her journals I loved them, instantly.....awww...they are amazing. The most beautiful vibrant colors and so creative www.teeshamoore.com
                                                  Follow the link and take a peek into her world of fascinating color.
I watched her video on you tube and tried my hand at a journal. It turned out pretty cute, but I'm not a journaler-YET, so there are lots of blank pages and a few doodles. I will show pictures soon.

Here is the front cover. I made this after watching Teesha Moore on youtube.

 Here is the back. I used all vintage scraps of fabric from my grandmothers quilting fabrics and bought the bright colored fancy yarns for the binding. I hand sewed all the stitches. It was the perfect project for night time tv. I get bored just watching a show so this was great to keep my hands busy.

 And this is the first page of my Doodles. I used watercolor paper cut to size and folded each sheet in half to create the pages. The only thing I need to add is a button and some journaling from the workshop.

The link to Small Studio is www.smallstudio.typepad.com

The dates are August 25 Dayplanner Journal  and August 26 Hand Stitched Art with a bonus class Junk Journal. There are only a few openings left. August 24 class is Full.

Hope to see you there!

New Blog

I started another Blog......
it's at
its-a-southernthang.blogspot.com
Today's blog is the recipe for sweet tea.

I've Been Pregnant for the Past 3 years.

I have been pregnant for the past 3 years and I am about to deliver.......

Ok....Not literally. I am 45, my kids are 20 and 26 and I'm a grandmother.

 But 3 years ago I started painting for myself and the colorful, whimsical new art was born.

 Over the past couple of years more ideas have been coming to me about the diversified conglomerate I am about to build. (not sure those terms actually fit, but it sounds good..it is going to be BIG) There will be tutorials, retreats, kits, Original art sales, the-traveling-trunk and a couple other surprises......you will be the first to know! IT"S ABOUT TO BE BORN!

I was just watching Bishop TD Jakes and took some of the following notes. I wanted to share them with you.
* Believe in your thoughts.
* We are born creative.
* Value your time. (yesterday is gone,  the last hour is gone, a moment ago is gone- these are my words to  you)
* If you break your day into 100%, 80% is used for something someone else can do and 20% is used for something only you can do. Hummm...something is wrong with this. SOOOO...lets try using 80% of our day doing something we are gifted with ;0) and use the 20% on the other stuff.

* Make time to be CrEaTivE! Being creative doesn't mean you have to be able to paint, draw, sew or sing  being creative is totally you. We are born creative. As babies learning to eat and not knowing how to hold the spoon, they figure it out by using their fingers. Before they know how to walk or crawl they will scoot to get where they want to be. Have you ever realized how you begin your day? You are being creative when you get dressed in the morning. Your clothes match, right? and if not...well, your style and creativity is showing. Through out your day you're creative in many ways, you may not realize it, but I want you to start.Think about how you match your clothes, how you put a meal together, how you react to others, how you handle situations, the way you decorate your home and if you don't do it yourself, you could! Does your home reflect you or someone else?.....whew...ok...end of sermon!

 I want you to know...YOU ARE CREATIVE!!!

 Just Be You!

* Ask yourself...What is my gift...my purpose? What am I passionate about? Enthusiastic about?     ACKNOWLEDGE IT!

So.....All this said....I am about to Deliver! Contractions are getting closer together and it feels GREAT!

Thank-You to my Husband for believing in me!

The Mimosa Tree

The Mimosa Tree


A sure sign of summer.
The sweet fragrance from the bloom of this frilly tree is almost as sweet as the honesuckles.
It brings back some of the my best childhood memories.
This is the tree that grew in my grandmothers front yard.
The tree I climbed when I was a little girl.
I loved to run my hand across the leaves to put them to sleep.
Then something happend to the trees. I think there was a disease that attacked them and they were gone.
In the past several years they have come back.
I didn't remember the fragrance until just the other day when I picked a bloom.....oh how sweet the smell.
It tickled my nose as I sniffed back memories.
In that moment I heard the jarflies begin to sing their summer song.
......and I wonder, where has the time gone?

Crock Pot Ranch Roast Recipe

 

Found this recipe on Pinterest from http://bergecentral.blogspot.com who found it from http://lseo.blogspot.com.

Thanks to both women. This is DELICIOUS!!!!

Had to share :0))

Blog Guidebook: Why We Do What We Do and Giveaway No.4

Blog Guidebook: Why We Do What We Do and Giveaway No.4

Surtex 2012

This year I exhibited at Surtex. WOW!

It was a last minute decision, a decision born from an on-line course I was taking called www.HelloSoulHelloBusiness aka HSHB. When I requested information about the show, I thought I would be on the waiting list for the 2013 show, but within a couple days of emailing, I received a call that I was in. So the homework and studying began. I was taking a huge leap of Faith, but I knew it was right. So I studied booth displays on YouTube and read thru everything I could on the Surtex site. I also found Tara Reed's Blog called Art Licensing Blog where there's a plethora of information.

 And I painted.....I worked in my studio everyday creating new collections to show versatility. With the help of a friend, who re-built my web site, my banners were designed, new cards were printed, bookmarks were printed, little fans were made and art was printed for the portfolios.

It was a fabulous show. I took two friends/helpers with me which was a perfect balance of help. We got so many positive comments and compliments on everything from our display to our outfits. We dressed in colors pulled from my art so we complimented the colors. My booth was a partial corner, so when people walked by in one direction they made direct eye contact with one of two of the chickens. Some of the shoppers burst out laughing and completely fell in love with the chickens, which makes me happy, because that's what they are all about..".a simple prescription for a smile"
Now it's time for follow up.

More to come about the show, including a list of some of the wonderful artist and friends I met there.

Red Thread

When I was a little girl I loved to spend the night with my grandmother who lived in town. She didn't drive, so it was a treat to walk to town. We would shop at several tiny town shops and if I was lucky we would walk a little farther to the grocery store where I got to choose my favorite cereal. We always stopped at the local drug store where I would perch on a bar stool and order a grilled cheese sandwich and a bag of funyons.
I never knew my grandmother to be superstitious but she always told me "remember, you have a string attached to you, be careful where you walk because wherever you go it will always be there." That has been kept in the back of my mind my entire life. Sometimes I think about it but I thought of it as a literal string that could tangle with my steps. Tonight I saw a new show called "Touch" about a little boy with autism. Sometime during the show the explanation of the string is explained as I have never heard it before. I copied this from a google search.

"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break." --An ancient Chinese belief" 

 

 

 

5 Step Dinner

Today I thought I would share a quick and easy recipe/meal with you.

When I was a little girl this is one of my favorite meals mom would make. 

Tuna Salad and Rice Pilaf

1. canned tuna in water
2. mayonaise
3. lettuce
4. onion
5. minute rice
6. no egg yolk noodles
7. chicken broth
8. olive oil
9. salt & pepper

 Step 1.
Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to pan. Brown egg noodles. Careful not to use to much heat. Gently toss in oil until most have brown areas.

Step 2. Add 2 cups Chicken Broth.

Step 3. Add 2 cups Minute Rice.

Step 4. Turn heat up to medium. Cover and steam until rice is tender.

Step 5. In large bowl. Tear one head lettuce into bite size pieces. Drain tuna and add to bowl. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cups mayo, depending on taste. salt & pepper. Stir together.

And you have a meal!

Enjoy ;0)

Blog Party

Inspiration Card Swap

I'm working on a deck of cards for a card swap with a soul sister Jessica Brogan, in the e-course we are taking. www.hellosoulhellobusiness.com

 I discovered an artist whom I am very captivated by, Flora Bowley. So I decided to create this Inspiration Deck by intuitive painting. It can be thought provoking but I'm trying not to put to much thought in them and just make them beautiful.  Earlier I stopped by the thrift store to pick up a couple of books to use the pages in some art. Hadn't even thought about the cards today, but I found a book called "The Amazing Results of Positive Thinking". Wow how perfect is that, right? and all books were on sale for a quarter.

                               It's funny how things come together. The resources are always there.

 This is just the beginning of the deck. I have to add the words and the other finishing touches.Then I will send them off to Texas where they will be separated into other decks for all who participated in the swap.

From Old to New- My Studio

This is where we began.  I had art classes here for 7 years.  

You can see some boxes of art. Of course it didn't 

look like this, but notice the old walls and floor.

I had this shop so many different colors over the years. Do you see the bright green. At one time the entire shop was that color, with accents of purple and pink.

We found beautiful old paneling under the pegboard and painted a lovely old creamy white.

The very back wall is where the barn was built.

Construction begins.

                                         The left side is where my office was, it is now the coop.

                          I love the moss on the door. I'm hoping to keep it alive with a gentle mist.

 I think a woodpecker was saving some seeds. I have never seen a woodpecker hole up close. It isn't round, it's more like a wedge. Very interesting. This post is now the legs to a table.

 The barn wood for this half of the barn is from a barn which was over 100 years old. It was going to be torn down and burnt. Actually came from the family of the Hatfields and McCoys fued. This is from the McCoy's side.